We have two high-profile games this Friday Night in the college football world! Michigan State takes on the #6 ranked Oregon Ducks in Eugene, Oregon. At the same time, Syracuse is traveling to Las Vegas to take on #25 UNLV! Both games kick off at 6 PM PT. Don't miss out on this double-featured ranked matchup! So pull out the second screen because you won’t want to miss a minute of either of these games!
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Oregon is settling well into their new conference, as they remain undefeated. That could change this weekend as they are taking on a familiar face. With the catastrophe that was last season, Michigan State opted to rework the program. Hiring former Oregon State coach Johnathan Smith to fill their vacant head coaching role. Smith was responsible for returning the Oregon State program from mediocrity to a 10-win season in only four years. However, with the breakup of the PAC-12, Smith opted to relocate from his alma mater for more stable waters in Michigan.
The Spartans have found early success under Smith. Beginning their season 3-0. However, they have struggle the last couple weeks. With transfer QB Aiden Chiles struggling to find the grove against better competition. Losing their last two games to Ohio State, and Boston College. Turnovers have been a key issue in the Spartan offense, which could hurt them against this talented Oregon defense.
Oregon hasn’t kicked off its season without its own struggles. Even though they are still undefeated, they squeaked by in a couple games. Specifically, in its match-up against Boise State, they only managed to win by a field goal. Granted, Boise State has looked much better than expected. In fact, 9 times out of 10 Boise State probably would have won that game. It look two lucky special teams scores to keep Oregon neck and neck with the Broncos. Ripping away a win in the final moments of the game with a last second field goal.
Oregon seems to be coming into form though. They dominated their competition in their last two games, winning both games by over 20 points each. The offense is coming together under former Oklahoma QB Dillion Gabriel. We expect to see a dominant performance from the Ducks on both sides of the ball!
We don’t think this game will be particularly close in Autzen, but if there is a coach who can surprise use it’s Smith. He has been a thorn on the Ducks' side since he was OC at Washington. With the spread currently sitting at 23.5 points, we’re tempted to take the Michigan State line, but we can’t. Oregon is just the better team this week. Overall, we’d say cautiously take the Ducks spread or even the Total Points under at 52.5. We don't think Michigan State will be able to effectively move the ball against a superior Oregon defense.
This game may be the one to watch this Friday, as the UNLV Rebels remain undefeated, though not without controversy. Winning their first three games, the Rebels looked elite, but their QB Matthew Sluka suddenly announced he would be sitting out the rest of the season. Claiming that the school wasn’t paying what they agreed to in NIL money, Sluka is red-shirting for the remainder of the season to preserve his eligibility. In his place, the sixth-year QB transfer from the Campbell Fighting Camels, Hajj-Malik Williams took over. In his first game against Fresno State, he lit it up with 182 passing yards and three passing TDs. That’s not all, though; he also had 119 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, with 301 yards of total offense plus 4 TD himself! He seems to be an excellent fit for the role, and we expect to see the Rebels continue to find success.
Syracuse won’t be a pushover for the hot Rebels. They’re a legit team behind QB Kyle McCord, the former Ohio State QB. They have started well, too, with only one loss on the books so far to Stanford. This Syracuse team can move the ball, with McCord averaging over 300 passing yards a game. This team is not shy about airing the ball out, which might be a challenge for the Rebels, who have given up some massive games in the air. Syracuse remains a potent underdog in this matchup, as this will be a massive test for a team that has only managed to bull over lesser competition. We’ll see if they are legit and if they can knock off the high-flying Rebels.
Overall, we like Syracuse as the underdog here. We don’t expect Hajj-Malik Williams to be able to replicate his performance from his first game. That’s not to say this UNLV team isn’t capable; we’re just concerned about the roster following Sluka’s departure. We’d lean towards the Syracuse spread at +6.5 or potentially the under on total points at 58.5.
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